With the home office becoming a more frequent fixture in many houses – out of professional necessity or just for personal use – it’s worth giving serious thought to the choice of desk. After all, the desk is an essential and hardworking tool for any office, and is often the room’s style centrepiece. Given its functional and design importance, the value of a correctly chosen desk cannot be understated. Let’s look at some examples for inspiration, and a few things to consider to make the right choice easier to make.

If the office forms part of an existing room, then consider how the desk ties in with the surrounding design and configuration of the room. Some desks are best placed on the periphery, as this built-in desk is, or it could work best by a window or behind a sofa. This will largely be dictated by how you want to use the room – and how the desk is used in that room.

TIP: Consider where your power outlets are located relative to where you want to place your desk. Within this context, it’s generally more practical to have the desk against the wall.

Or a large room? Space allowances can greatly influence choice around both the dimensions and form of a desk. There are no standard sizes for desks. Nevertheless, the common desk height is around 730-760 millimetres, and the depth between 500-700 millimetres.

For desk sizing, consider the general principle that the greater the surface area, the better the desk’s versatility. Therefore, get the largest desk that will comfortably fit in the space available. If there is a wall behind the desk, or another piece of furniture, consider leaving at least 900 millimetres of space, so you can manoeuvre the chair with ease.

Should your home office need to accommodate more than one workstation – whether it’s for a colleague or family member(s), this example demonstrates how well one office desk can service more than one worker. Something to think about is whether the desk can be expanded within the space as your family or business grows.

Built-in desks are great for tight spaces, and allow you to add practical shelving above or use the surrounding walls for other functions. While for larger spaces, a freestanding desk can be placed anywhere in the room and you can use all sides of the desk. In this example, the desk has been placed so a visitor can face the person behind the desk. Remember that freestanding desks will invariably mean that computers cords, wires and the like are not hidden from view.

MaterialsConsider what the desk is made of – will it withstand the uses you have in mind for it? The desktop material is particularly important. In an office where sunlight hits the desk, consider using a non-reflective desktop and avoid glass, metal or even the colour whiteto reduce glare.

TIP: Glass (as well as some types of stone) can be problematic as a desktop material. It requires regular cleaning to look great. In addition, glass struggles to retain and reflect warmth, which can make resting limbs on the glass desktop a far from comfortable exercise in colder months.

Extras Consider whether your desk needs drawers or other forms of storage. These can include shelving, filing cabinets, a place for the printer, storage for stationery or individual drawers for shared workstations.

TIP: A desk detail to consider is a cable port, where cords for computers and desk lights can travel to reach the power outlets below the desk.

Taking a standThe rising popularity of the standing desk offers something else to think about. Do you want to stand all the time, or do you want the flexibility of being able to raise and lower it at will? The level of some desks can even be changed electronically at the flick of a switch.

Be creative This is a creative and simple iteration of a home desk office. If you look carefully, it is essentially a desktop that has been built within a balustrade. You can either sit or stand in front of the desk and enjoy the view.

YOUR SAYWhat kind of desk would you love to have in your home office? Share your thoughts in the Comments.

That's a good observation, @Dan Kitchens Australia. It's a great way to add some warmth without having to do the whole bench-top in timber, which usually requires more care than other hard wearing bench top materials.